Edge: Move was 'brewing for a while'

Edgerrin James said he saw it coming, but that didn't mean he liked giving up his starting spot to rookie running back Tim Hightower on Sunday.

James had started all 135 NFL games he had played. Hightower responded, running for 109 yards and a TD on 22 carries.

It was a monumental step for the Cardinals, sending someone with James' Hall of Fame credentials to the bench. But the Cardinals valued Hightower's burst.

Hightower scored on a 30-yard run on the 13th carry of his first start. James, in 2½ seasons with the Cardinals, had a long run of 27 yards and only four carries of 20 or more yards.

The plan coming into the game wasn't to keep James on the sideline, coach Ken Whisenhunt said, but that's how the afternoon went.

"Man, it's been brewing for a while," said James, who has expressed frustration over the past two weeks at his diminishing role. "I'm supportive of Tim and happy for him."

That doesn't mean James thinks the move was justified.

"I don't fit the 'yes-man' mold," he said, "so it's going to always come down on me. I'm not going to be a yes man. They can sit me down for the rest of the year, it don't matter. I'll come out, go to work. I expected him (Tim) to have a big day. We knew we should have a big day running the ball, regardless of who was in there."

Tim Hightower (34) struggles for yardage as he is pulled down by Rams linebacker Will Witherspoon during the second quarter. Hightower had 109 yards on 22 carries in place of Edgerrin James in the Cardinals' 34-13 victory.